Monday, June 29, 2009

Santorini Cooking tour - Santorini Cuisine

Santorini, like all the Cyclades, offers a diverse and delicious cuisine. While its arid volcanic landscape does not lend itself to the production of a wide variety of products, it does provide some distinct and incomparable flavors and original recipes. Residents are well aware there is no need to look elsewhere when everything is available at home.

That’s the reason why many people in Santorini looking for food or wine tours and more the thematic tours about Santorinian cuisine. At mysantorini.com you will find the most popular cooking tour in Santorini and you can book on line for you and your company. Enjoy your stay in Santorini and book a tour to remember.

Santorini's cuisine is primarily based on the island's own agricultural products. These locally grown products nourished by the volcanic soil, the sea breeze and the sunshine of the Aegean Sea, share a unique, full taste. Combined with the almost exclusively organic cultivation of the island the result is top quality produce from ingredients used to cook the original, tasty and healthy foods you will find in most of the island's taverns and restaurants.

Sweet cherry tomatoes, beans, barley, white eggplants, zucchini, capers (whose leaves are also added to salads) and mint are all typical products served with lamb or rabbit - not to mention the essential moussaka (eggplant gratin), fava (bean purée) and pseftokeftedes (meatballs with vegetables and spices).

You should also try the fresh grilled fish or octopus salad. Everywhere tavernas and other typical bars offer Greek salad and souvlaki (meat kabobs). Cafés serve gyros (spit-roasted meat) served in pitas with salad and tzatziki, a garlicky yogurt sauce.

Meletenia is Santorini's best-known dessert. It is a flaky pastry filled with cheese and egg, covered with mastiha, a kind of sweet resin. Also “ Koufeto”, which is prepared with almonds which are boiled in local honey or syrup. Koufeto is a traditional sweet which is served at weddings.

If you add to this menu the many choice wines produced on the island, from the dry whites to the sweet dessert Vinsanto and the wonderful taste combinations that they create, you will understand why the many restaurateurs, gastronomy experts, and Greek and foreign journalists have embraced and promoted the eclectic tastes of Santorini.

This small island has already made a name for itself in the world of gourmet tastes. It is considered by most to be a must-visit destination for gastronomy connoisseurs as it is offers some of the country's best restaurants, wineries and taverns.

Fava is a puree made with Fava beans (yellow peas). Fava is an old traditional dish of Greece which can be served in many different ways according to the time of the year. What makes the Santorini Fava special is the taste of the fava beans produced on the island.

Tomatinia or Cherry Tomato is very aromatic and tasty and can be easily mistaken for cherries. In Santorini the 100% organic tomatoes will delight every lover of this fruit.

Chloro Cheese is a fresh cheese made by women of Santorini and it is not easy to find anymore.

Tomatokeftedes are meat balls without the meat... This tasty recipe of Santorini is prepared with herbs, tomatoes and butter. They are actually the island’s specialty, apart from the Fava.

The White Eggplant, a unique vegetable of the island, is considered the “national” course in Santorini. They are very small eggplants, very delicious and with a fresh flavor.

The Caper (kapari) and the Dried Caper are other products of the island and are often used in salads.

Want to learn to Cook in Santorinian way?

We present you “Santorini cooking classes” for 2009. These are new series of classes which are going to showcase the cuisine of Santorini and various cooking methods along with the famous local wines. Carefully selected recipes are going to be presented by renowed Santorinian chefs using traditional materials and preparations. At mysantorini.com you can choose between full day and three hours programs. The maximum number of students is 12 and the prices start from 50 Euros per person. Book now your Santorini Cooking

lesson and enjoy a spectacular experience in Santorini Island.

Buon appetite!

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